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'Venom' teaser is all tease and no Venom ... and fans are ticked

While Spider-Man joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with 2016’s Captain America: Civil War and again in last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, one of his signature baddies is staying put at Sony Pictures — and, finally, getting his first standalone saga. We’re speaking about Venom, the fanged black symbiote villain who first made a big-screen impression (courtesy of actor Topher Grace) in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, and will soon be the focus of a full-length origin story in Ruben Fleischer’s aptly titled Venom. With Tom Hardy as its star, the upcoming comic book-based feature is one of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2018. And it has now unleashed its first trailer — which is missing a key ingredient, much to the displeasure of fans.

Those hoping to see the famed creature in all his black-tendrilled glory will have to wait, as Venom himself is never actually visible in full in the clip above. Instead, we only get glimpses of the symbiote in a container, and of some black veins creeping up Hardy’s neck as he begins freaking out while having an MRI. That omission isn’t sitting well with the legions of die-hard Marvel-ites who have been clamoring for a sneak peek at the fiend, as evidenced by the comments on the trailer’s YouTube page (“So, erm, where’s Venom?”) as well as the unhappy reaction on Twitter:

That Venom teaser trailer was weak & I know what your all going to say " It's just a teaser of course they weren't going to show off too much." Uhh… this was a teaser too & it showed off way more. https://t.co/GpmA2UDvDU

Without a single shot of its title character, this maiden tease primarily provides a collection of views of Hardy’s Eddie Brock walking the streets of San Francisco, as well as racing through them on a motorcycle as pursuing vehicles flip and explode behind him. Moreover, Hardy’s narration hints at the unlikely-hero angle the story may eventually take with Venom — since, one has to assume, Hardy’s monstrous protagonist can’t remain a figure of pure evil throughout a movie aimed at launching a blockbuster franchise.

For those who want a little more of the titular antihero, Sony did release a slightly more revealing poster:

Sony

Co-starring Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, and Woody Harrelson, Venom should have more than enough star power to propel the franchise to the superhero heights already achieved by many of its Marvel brethren. And no doubt we’ll be seeing more of the character in nightmarish action before the film lands in theaters on Oct. 5.